Cotton harvesters typically include a harvesting head assembly for harvesting crop materials as the harvester is driven across a field. The harvesting head assembly is supported by and transversely extends across the harvester. A typical head assembly mounts a plurality of harvesting units and a rotatable auger mechanism for collecting materials harvested by the harvesting units.
Each harvesting unit includes a fore-and-aft housing assembly which encloses a rotatable harvesting mechanism. The harvesting mechanism of the harvesting unit can take different forms. In cotton stripper type harvesters, the housing assembly of each harvesting unit defines a plant passage with rotatably driven brushes arranged on opposite sides thereof for stripping the crop materials from the plants as the harvester is driven across the field.
A typical auger mechanism includes a transversely elongated auger mounted for rotation on the head assembly and extending rearwardly of and beneath the harvesting units. A conventional auger has left and right hand spiral sections. Thus, when the auger is rotatably driven it moves the materials received from the harvesting units toward a discharge area of the head assembly.
The head assembly further includes a drive mechanism for driving the harvesting units and the auger mechanism. The drive mechanism for the harvesting units typically includes a telescoping shaft assembly extending rearwardly from each harvesting unit. A forward end of the shaft assembly is connected to the harvesting mechanism of a harvesting unit. The rear or aft end of the shaft assembly is connected to and driven by a drive pulley carried on a frame of the head assembly. Each shaft assembly includes telescoping shaft sections as well as front and rear universal joints for accommodating movement of the harvesting units. A separate drive arrangement is provided for driving the rotatable auger mechanism.
Each harvesting unit is supported on the head assembly through an attaching mechanism toward a rear end of the unit. The attaching mechanism is designed to allow for transverse movement of the respective harvesting unit to adjust for different row spacings between the units thereby facilitating harvesting of materials from plants arranged in numerous combinations of row spacings. The harvesting units may likewise be transversely moved for inspection and servicing of the rotatable harvesting mechanism of each harvesting unit.
The size and weight of the harvesting units makes it difficult and cumbersome to adjust their transverse position on the head assembly. Positioning and adjusting of the harvesting units is further complicated by the weight and presence of the telescoping drive shaft assembly extending therefrom. Moreover, the mechanism for transferring power between adjacent drive shaft assemblies requires different parts each time an adjustment in the transverse positioning of the harvesting units is effected. The excess time and added inventory costs involved with modification of conventional harvester drive systems is apparent. The complex mechanical interconnection inherent with the drive arrangement vertically extending to the auger mechanism further complicates the drive system for the cotton harvester.